Keith (Bigash) turned me on to the Anova Precision Cooker.
I pre-ordered it and waited about 8 weeks for it to come
Since it has gotten here, I've done my best to put it through the paces.
It's a little larger than a stick blender, and you can use it with any pot.
I bought a 4.75 gallon Cambro container to use with mine.

As soon as it came I couldn't wait to try it.
I always take baby steps first, :rolleyes: so I went out and grabbed a couple of 24-26oz prime ribeye steaks.
Seasoned with salt & pepper
Cook time and temp was 1.5 hours @132°
Finished in a cast iron skillet

The steaks came out great and I felt 132° was the perfect temp for me.
If there was something I didn't like it was the sear I got on the steak.
It was my first attempt at it so I had a hard time judging.
I wanted a good sear, but I didn't want to leave it in the pan too long and have it overcook.
I definitely could've let it sear longer without worry.

jonumberone

11-30-2015 08:26 AM

Re: Sous vide

Next up I tried a rack of lamb.
Seasoned with salt & pepper. I also through in a couple sprigs of Rosemary
Cooked at 130° for 2.5 hours

Second try, still not the greatest sear.
I was even more apprehensive with the more delicate lamb than with the steaks.
Again, I think I could've seared longer without jeopardizing the interior.

Next up some eggs for breakfast.
Cooked in their shells @ 167° for 14 min.
Served over some Pulled Pork Hash I made with some leftovers.
The yolk had custard like consistency. I prefer it more runny.
After some more reading I'm going to try 163° next time.

Sous vide shrimp was the next attempt.
Seasoned with smoked sea salt, pepper and cooked with EVOO in the bag.
14 minutes @ 149°
Finished in a cast iron skillet with butter and a dash of Cajun seasoning for about 1 min.
Served over yellow corn grits.
Everything came out perfect on this one!

Better sear this time, but still not perfect.
The carrots here were also cooked sous vide.
Tried to cook them in bourbon and maple syrup.
They were a fail. Cooked to perfection but the bourbon maple sauce was really bitter.
I need to work on the ratios for that one.

jonumberone

11-30-2015 08:27 AM

Re: Sous vide

I finally moved on to some white meat
Pork Chops seasoned with salt, pepper, fresh peeled garlic and Rosemary.
Served over sauteed cabbage and some sauteed apples on the side.
140° for 45 minutes. Finished, also, in cast iron.

These were the perfect pork chops!
Wonderfully moist and tender.
I was finally 100% happy with the sear I got, too!

Lastly I moved onto a 50oz ribeye steak.
I don't think the pics do it justice. This was a massive hunk of a steak!
Simple salt & pepper seasoning.
Again, 132° for 90 min. This time I finished over charcoal.

Just amazing!
I would've never been able to cook a steak like this, this well, without the sous vide method.

Chainsaw13

11-30-2015 08:45 AM

Re: Sous vide

Awesome job on the cooking Dom. I have the same IC. So far I've only done a few items, eggs, steak and a boned out turkey breast. The turkey was amazingly good. 145F for 4 hours. Juicy, tender, just perfect.

massphatness

11-30-2015 09:13 AM

Re: Sous vide

Been watching your posts on instagram, and pulled the trigger on an Innova.

Does the Cambro container add anything besides a coolness factor and the ability to see the bag of meat?

Chainsaw13

11-30-2015 09:15 AM

Re: Sous vide

Quote:

Originally Posted by massphatness
(Post 2063708)

Does the Cambro container add anything besides a coolness factor and the ability to see the bag of meat?

My guess would be size of items you could put into it. I use a 12qt stock pot right now. I didn't have any issues with space when doing the turkey breast, but that's about as large of an item I'd want to put in there.

Chainsaw13

11-30-2015 09:16 AM

Re: Sous vide

Hey Dom, I'm thinking of picking up one of these for the searing process.

My friend is a master at this method and has been doing it almost a decade. He'll keep the meat in there much longer than you do, but does the same basic method.

Maybe your pan is not hot enough for the sear? The charcoal worked, so maybe it's temp related

G G

11-30-2015 09:53 AM

Re: Sous vide

I believe I will have to get me one of them there devices.:tu

jonumberone

11-30-2015 10:09 AM

Re: Sous vide

Quote:

Originally Posted by massphatness
(Post 2063708)

Been watching your posts on instagram, and pulled the trigger on an Innova.

Does the Cambro container add anything besides a coolness factor and the ability to see the bag of meat?

The size of the piece of meat is one reason.
Another was the lid.
I modified the lid to fit the Anova.
The lid will help reduce evaporation on really long cooks.
I did some beef ribs for 53hrs and didn't have to add any water to the container.

A puddle of drool, right here in front of me. This stuff looks amazing Dom, as soon as I find myself with enough time to properly go down the sous vide rabbit hole I'm gonna pick up a system like this, right now I think I would only use it a few times before it becomes an expensive toy in the cabinet

CigarNut

11-30-2015 10:14 AM

Re: Sous vide

Very cool, Dom!

What did you finally work out a for good sear?

jonumberone

11-30-2015 10:24 AM

Re: Sous vide

Quote:

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol
(Post 2063715)

Maybe your pan is not hot enough for the sear? The charcoal worked, so maybe it's temp related

The pan was plenty hot. I think it was more about being gun shy.
The charcoal worked, but it was extremely hot.
Rather than light the grill to sear off one steak, I lit a charcoal chimney and placed a grill grate on top.
When I was finally ready to put the stake on the grates were glowing red.

I really like to sear my steaks in cast iron by first heating up a bit of olive oil starting the sear and then dumping in a couple tablespoons of butter to baste and finish the sear. Has never failed me and you get that little bit of caramelization to the meat. That being said I'm pretty sure everyone does it the same way. -P

The steaks look fantastic by the way.

8lug

11-30-2015 11:45 AM

Re: Sous vide

Wow............

mosesbotbol

11-30-2015 01:56 PM

Re: Sous vide

Good thing with Sous Vide, is you can put even the steaks in there way ahead of time, so all there is to do is just finish the meat. That and sous vide allows for long time to render and break down collagen than normal oven cooking.

Not sure how much Dom's unit was, but the one my friend uses was about 1K.

That being said, I am in no rush to buy one.

You'll need a vacuum tumbler next!

Chainsaw13

11-30-2015 02:05 PM

Re: Sous vide

The Anova immersion circulator is $180 on Amazon.

The only downside I have found with it is the bluetooth range sucks. But don't let that stop you from getting one. I though i heard a wifi version was coming out soon.

T.G

11-30-2015 08:56 PM

Re: Sous vide

Food looks awesome in the photos, Dom.

This is a process I've never experimented with; so the main thing about the finished product with the sous vide method is no loss of moisture in the food, an extreme tenderness from the long low temp cook where you let enzymes do what they are supposed to do and then combining that with a maillard reaction for the outside texture that normally wouldn't be possible to combine with that level of moisture, doneness or rarity of the meat?